Two American Bugs on the Serengeti
by The Solar Surfer
Summary: Best friends Alex and Marc find themselves on wild plains of Africa after falling asleep during the Lion King. But not as human teenage boys, oh no, but as two beetles who play witness to the events around them. It's a struggle for survival and sanity as the two boys must find a way home without getting eaten, crushed, or burned alive on the way back. IF they get back, that is.


**Hey, guys, sorry for the hiatus, I'm just taking a little break. Anyways, this is the first chapter to another commission for Mentoria, this time set in the Lion King universe. Nothing too major happens here, just set up and characters and stuff. But I like it. Please, tell me what you think! All reviews are appreciated :)**

**Anyways, enjoy!**

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Chapter One

Somewhere in the middle of average America, in an average town, on an average street, in an average house whose lawn featured your average white fence and garden gnome whose head has gone missing since the Lawn Mowing Incident of '09 – lived an average 13-year-old named Alex.

Alex was pretty normal for a teenage boy, although he tried to deny it at every turn. He didn't like how he blended with the crowd, how he was always looked over by his parents for his over-achieving older sister and freaking adorable little brother who was just starting to pick up words from his family and repeating them endlessly; in particular, the F-word, because last week Alex stubbed his toe on the corner of the table and forgot little Jimmy was playing with the toy truck in the next room. Alex hadn't meant to shout so loud...but now he was grounded.

Being grounded sucked, big-time. It didn't help with Alex's campaign to prove himself notable – to be seen as a 'somebody' not a 'nobody.' He wanted to go to the high school game (Big Sis Jessica was cheerleader, so he had an excuse – Alex didn't actually care for football) so he could be seen by the Popular Crowd, who would note his interest in football and consider him for entry in their clique. He had been attending every other game this year to prove himself. The last time, a pretty girl named Carrie said hello when she passed by. It was one of the happiest moments in Alex's life.

But she would forget about him, Alex knew. It was pointless to even bother now that his parents had cemented his doom to be stuck in the Whatever Crowd. The Whatever Crowd were kids who didn't fit into any box of the variety of school cliques. He wasn't smart enough to be in the Nerd Crowd, or owned enough dark clothes to be in the Goth Crowd. He didn't like theatre or music or art, and didn't have the right body type to be any good in sports. He certainly didn't have enough piercings for the Skater Crowd, even though he's been asking for a skateboard since last year. A skateboard would _totally_ make Alex look cool.

You know, once he knew how to ride one.

But for now, it was a distant dream. Right now, he was sharing that dream with the equally mediocre Marc, who like Alex was in the Whatever Crowd. It was what brought them together, one lunch when neither had any clue to sit. All the seats by the windows were taken; prime real estate concerning the student population. Instead, Alex and Marc were stuck in the corner table by the trashcans, where they threw the safety-code-infringement food the cafeteria served whenever the chaperones weren't looking.

Marc, like Alex, wanted so bad to be popular. He wanted to be invited to parties. He thought he could look be some rock star, with his dark spiky hair and square jaw. His mother kept telling him he would grow up to be a handsome man, and Marc took those words to heart. Alex, on the other hand, had long blond hair he didn't know what to do with. It was like no hair style ever looked good on him, because it made his head look too big. So Alex just let it grow out. He was starting to get a little worried, though, after a teacher demanded him to empty his backpack, because the guy thought Alex was packing drugs or something.

Perhaps the shag 'do wasn't the best way to go. Alex ruffled his hair, wondering how short he should cut it. An inch? Maybe more? His bangs hung so low he could barely see out of them. Jimmy had started calling him a Sheepdog. Alex didn't know if he liked the name or not.

"Dude, you being grounded is a total _drag_," Marc drawled, flopping back on the living room couch and scowling at the ceiling. He let his hand drop to the floor, heaving a sigh. "Can't your mom let you out for, like, an hour or two? No offense, but there's nothing to do in your house."

"Yeah, _I know_," Alex grumbled for the third time today. Marc had been complaining the entire time he was here, something Alex could do nothing about because his mother took away his computer and XBox. There was literally _nothing_ to do. "But she hid all my stuff, man. And if she finds out I found it and took it out, she'll take away my allowance, too. Do you know how much it sucks to do all your chores and not get paid for it?"

"Eh, I don't know," Marc shrugged. He didn't have to do his chores because his mother hired a maid three months ago. Marc had three brothers and two sisters, combined with two working parents meant no time to do everything with the time left available. He still got an allowance, though. "Just like, bring it out for five minutes. If we hear someone's car coming in the driveway, we'll put it back before anyone even knows we took it. Come on! Pleeeeaaaaase?"

Marc rolled over and got on his hands and knees, clasping his hands together and shaking them at Alex, who sat on the loveseat across from him. Alex frowned at him, wondering if this was just Marc screwing around or if he was honestly begging. "No, dude. What if she figures out what we're up to and sneaks around the back door? She's done it before. Remember last year's birthday party?"

"Oh, right," Marc dropped his hands and sat back on his heels, brow furrowing as he remembered. Alex had found all the candy for the piñata and shared it with Marc – they only meant to eat a little, not enough to be noticeable, and were going to leave the bowl where it was. Only...they got a little carried away and later that day Alex had to beat open an empty piñata, while Jimmy started to cry because he wouldn't get any chocolate like he was promised. "Yeah, that was pretty bad. But now what? Can't we just watch a movie or something?"

"I guess, but we don't have a DVD player – that was the XBox," Alex said, pointing at the shiny spot on the shelf beneath the TV, where the dust hadn't settled. "All we have left is the VHS, and we haven't gotten any new video tapes since 2001."

"Well, it's not like there haven't been any good movies put on VHS," Marc said, but his expression betrayed him. The idea of watching an old video tape on a giant flat-screen TV didn't sound too great – Alex wasn't even sure if any of their old tapes were still good anymore. What if the tape inside got all moldy or something? "But I guess I can check it out..."

"Knock yourself out," Alex didn't care either way, so just waved his hand and let Marc decide what movie they could watch. Most of their tapes were kid's movies anyways, so Alex wasn't looking forward to the experience. "But I seriously doubt you'll find anything good."

Marc went over to crouch down near the shelf of video tapes, perusing the line of titles with a hand on his chin. He squinted at each title in turn. A lot of them were Disney movies, so the idea of getting an action-packed showdown with gigantic robots in the middle of a city was very unlikely.

"Oh, this is mint!" Marc jumped up, waving a plastic, colorful case and grinning ear to ear. He looked incredibly proud of himself. "When's the last time you saw _The Lion King_?"

"Uh," Alex stared at his friend, wondering if the kid had suddenly lost his mind. Seriously, _that_ movie? He could have at least chosen a _good_ Disney movie like _Treasure Planet _or _Aladdin._ "Like, when I was five, dude. Are you kidding me?"

"Oh, come on, it's a great movie!" Marc seemed unexpectedly excited about this, considering he was the guy who tried to remove himself that wasn't immediately manly or 'cool'. _Lion King_, for all intents and purposes, was not one of them. "I mean, funny characters, great story – nostalgia factor! Dude, don't tell me you never liked this movie."

"Whatever, go ahead," Alex just shook his head and closed his eyes, running a hand through his hair. He didn't want to get into an arguement over a stupid Disney movie. There were few others he would put up. After all, _The Lion King_ was actually one of the movies he loved when he was kid. Mufasa's death always made him cry, but he was determined not to let it happen this time. "Just stick it in already."

Unfortunately, Alex couldn't hold back the waterworks when little Simba stumbled upon his father's limp body, serene as though he were sleeping. He managed to hide it from Marc, who would surely make fun of him for crying like a baby, but when Alex glanced around, he noticed Marc had very bright eyes and was biting his lip so hard it turned white. Even though both of them knew exactly what would happen, it didn't make it hurt any less.

Marc had to exert his grief into something mildly violent. As he sat there in the living room, cross legged in front of the TV, he looked around, hoping to find something he could break. But this wasn't his house and Alex's mom was unlikely to let him back in if he vandalized the place. Again. (They had promised to never speak of the Lawn Mower Incident of '09).

Since he couldn't break any of the toys or trinkets lying around, Marc scowled at his feet, fingers digging into his jeans. He had just about decided to give up when he saw a tiny little ant crawling across the floor in front of him, all along in the middle of the living room.

Marc chuckled, leaning over and planting his thumb right on top of it. "Blam! Bugs are so stupid!"

"Dude, gross!" Alex complained. "Not on the carpet!"

"What?" Marc threw Alex a look, unimpressed with the scandalized look on his friend's face. Alex seriously needed to learn how to relax. "It's just a bug! It doesn't have feelings. Unless you _wanted_ to keep it in your house to eat all your food."

"Well, no," Alex looked away, scowling at his shoes. Marc had a point, but he didn't have to ruin the carpet with it. "But still. You could've just gotten a piece of paper and let it outside. Maybe it was just trying to get home."

"Bugs don't have homes," Marc snorted. Alex had some weird ideas about bug science, all sentimental and crap. "They have hives, and they follow a queen that makes them do whatever she wants. Not the greatest existence in my opinion. Besides, what's it going to do to me? Hm?"

Alex opened his mouth to reply, but Marc didn't let him speak. He jabbed a finger at his blond friend. "Exactly! Nothing! It's just one bug in millions. It doesn't mean anything in the existence of anything."

"You're not even making any sense," Alex grumbled, turning back to the TV. Simba had just met the meerkat and warthog, and he was starting to get bored. In fact, he was starting to feel a little sleepy. Maybe he could wait out his grounding through his dreams. That would be nice, wouldn't it? "Just shut up and watch the movie."

"You need to chillax, dude," Marc just smirked and shook his head. Alex made a big deal out of unimportant things. Who cared about bugs? They could all get eaten for all he cared.

As the movie continued, the both of them continued to yawn, more in shorter intervals. But they were teenage boys and didn't think anything of it. By the time the credits rolled, both boys were passed out in the living room.

And their adventure had only just begun.


End file.
